


Collection of AUs

by Darkicedragon



Category: Noblesse (Manhwa)
Genre: AU, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2019-10-12 03:38:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17459912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkicedragon/pseuds/Darkicedragon
Summary: Collection of AUs





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Summary: Summon animals were only used for fighting and killing. M-21 knows that. But Frankenstein and his master's summons don't seem to act like that...
> 
> Summoner au for the Noblesse Let's Fix it Event.

M-21 tried to ignore Frankenstein and his master's summons. They were always there, almost like  _pets_ .    
  
In the Union, summoning was something only stronger people could do. They had the power to call upon a creature and bind it to them to do whatever they wanted.    
  
Experimental material people like him weren't supposed to be able to summon. But he could. It wasn't as impressive as Frankenstein's panther, who could reach the top of doors to swat at something if she felt like it or as colourful as Raizel-nim's bird. His bird wasn't something M-21 recognised, but its twinned plume arced far behind its head. Frankenstein and Raizel-nim were both strong enough that their summons could change their sizes depending on what suited them, from taking up the entire sofa by itself, or small enough to perch on a shoulder while their summoner was doing something.    
  
M-21's was just a grey dog. Barely that. It looked like it was in the awkward phase between puppy and adult, paws too big for his gangly body.    
  
Which fit. They were both useless. M-21 had been able to call upon his summon when he had his back against the wall, and his summon had just enough mass to surprise his opponent. Nothing more than that.    
  
"M-21..."Raizel-nim said, holding his saucer up where he'd broken some of his cookie so his summon could peck at it, "why have you not called your summon?"    
  
M-21 just looked at him. Why did he care? "There hasn't been a fight." Not since he'd been brought there.    
  
"Summons are not only for fighting," Raizel-nim said, taking a sip of his tea. "They are tied to you, and want to know the area you are in."    
  
M-21 snorted. "Why?" His summon had only wanted to fight. Maybe Frankenstein and Raizel-nim's summons were like that, but his wasn't. And his would easily lose against both of theirs.    
  
Raizel-nim gazed at him. "Because you want to. A summon wants to do what their summoner wants."   
  
"And if there is something you need," Frankenstein added, pouring himself a cup of tea, his panther padding over to nose at Raizel-nim's bird, "your summon will know where it is."    
  
Hng. It sounded like a set-up. He huffed, crossing his arms. "Your summons would eat mine." He wasn't sure what happened to a summon that was killed, if he could summon it again, or if it was just sent back to wherever it came from - the people whose summons was killed followed soon after.    
  
Frankenstein blinked at him, his panther doing the same. "Why would they do that?" Frankenstein said.   
  
"Because they would attack each other." That's what they were  _for_ .    
  
Frankenstein raised an eyebrow. "Have you seen Master's or my summon fighting one other?"    
  
M-21 glanced at the two, the panther grooming the bird in long strokes as she purred. "No..." he admitted. But they were Frankenstein and Raizel-nim's. They were different.    
  
"Summons are tied to their summoner's wants and needs," Frankenstein repeated what Raizel-nim had said earlier. "If you don't feel the need to fight, then they won't fight."    
  
Huh. Okay... Frankenstein knew about summons, so maybe he was right.    
  
M-21 took a breath, reaching for the area that  _felt_  like the dog and called him.    
  
The dog responded instantly and snapped into existence in front of M-21. His summon's shoulder barely reached the top of the table, and Frankenstein's panther made him appear even smaller, a paw the size of the dog's head.    
  
M-21 watched as the panther turned towards his dog, and shit, he'd been right - the panther was going to attack his dog!    
  
His summon growled, fur bristling and the panther paused, tail swishing slowly side to side.    
  
"M-21," Frankenstein said, his voice soft, "no-one is going to hurt you or your summon."    
  
Words. Words could easily be false platitudes and lies.    
  
But. So far, Frankenstein had never lied. He could be trying to get him into a false sense of security but... The Union scientists never bothered with that, or if they did, they didn't hold up the facade for long.    
  
M-21 relaxed, uncurling the fists he hadn't realised he'd made, his summon settling down as well.    
  
The panther reached over with a massive paw, claws still sheathed, and patted M-21's dog on the head.    
  
A small whine accompanied M-21's confusion, but the panther didn't do much more than that, curling up beside M-21's dog and started to groom whatever she could reach.    
  
Raizel-nim's bird wandered away from the cookie crumbs and settled down on the table next to where M-21's and Frankenstein's summons were, watching over them.    
  
Oh. Frankenstein had been telling the truth.    
  
"See?" Frankenstein said, smiling at him, "nothing to worry about. You won't be harmed here."    
  
Huh. It did look like that. This place could be better than M-21 thought it would be.


	2. Fluffed Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hnn..." Kentas said, before he tore his gaze away from M-21's wings to look at M-21. "When was the last time you relaxed?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wing au.
> 
> Wings prompt for the Let's Fix It event.

Kentas was staring at him. M-21 knew he was, because there was no-one else in the room and the hairs at the back of his neck prickled.   
  
"What?" he said, turning towards Kentas, crossing his arms as he turned, his wings arching up slightly above his head.  
  
It wasn't just M-21 Kentas was staring at, but his wings. Dull grey and small in comparison to almost everyone else's in the house, they weren't very interesting. Not something that should have taken Kentas' attention. Not unless there was something _else_ wrong with them, but Frankenstein would have mentioned it by now.   
  
But then, Kentas was a werewolf. Maybe he had a better idea of what was going on with M-21's wings? They were more fur than feathers, though still able to hold him up in the sky; Kentas' wings looked like they were the same, but his fur was sleek and smooth rather than the fluffed up mess that M-21's were.  
  
"Hnn..." Kentas said, before he tore his gaze away to look at M-21. "When was the last time you relaxed?"   
  
M-21 frowned at him. "I _am_ relaxed." He was the most relaxed he'd been in all the time that he could remember. Though that was easy when he used to be in the Union.   
  
Kentas studied him for a few more seconds before he sighed. "Can I talk you though some exercises?"   
  
M-21 narrowed his eyes at him. But Kentas wasn't Tao, and didn't have the tendency to prank others like Tao did. It should be fine.   
  
"What is it?"   
  
Kentas smiled. "Sit here," he said, pulling out one of the stools in the kitchen, "and wrinkle your forehead."  
  
M-21 frowned. What was-  
  
"Do that once you're sitting here," Kentas said, still smiling a little.   
  
What was Kentas wanting him to do? Except Kentas had told him. And since this had followed from Kentas' question, it wouldn't be a joke. Kentas didn't do that. So he would see what Kentas was planning.   
  
M-21 sat on the stool, leaning an elbow on the table as he looked at Kentas. He wrinkled his brow and Kentas nodded.   
  
"Arch your eyebrows for a second."   
  
M-21's eyebrows were already doing that as he tried to figure out how this was supposed to help.   
  
Kentas' instructions continued going further down: closing his eyes, wrinkling his nose, clenching his jaw, tensing his neck. Lower and lower, working through his entire body.   
  
M-21 was glad no-one walked in on them and saw him, but eventually he just focused on Kentas' voice.   
  
Once they finished stretching M-21's toes, Kentas said, "How do you feel?"  
  
M-21 exhaled, rolling one of his shoulders. "Looser?" Everything felt lighter, like he didn't have to put as much effort into moving. Huh.   
  
Kentas smiled. "Good. Your wings are still a little stiff though." He lifted a hand, like he was intending to reach for them. "I can help with that?"   
  
Normally, M-21 would have shied away from the touch but...he felt _good_ right now. And Kentas hadn't tricked him.   
  
M-21 nodded, turning his back to Kentas.   
  
Kentas laid a palm on the part of M-21's wings where it met his back. Kentas gripped the muscle for a second, and then-  
  
M-21 hissed, the wing spasming.   
  
"Too hard?" Kentas said, releasing the pressure.   
  
M-21 frowned. He'd had worse pain -someone trying to rip his wings off once- but the way Kentas had pressed in, it was like Kentas had instantly found exactly where it ached the most. He'd had learned to ignore that until it became background noise, especially compared to everything else his body had been doing, but now it was at the forefront of his mind again.   
  
"I don't know?" He didn't know if he was supposed to feel that much pain; he didn't know if his body was just weaker than what Kentas was used to dealing with.   
  
"Hnnn." The next time Kentas pushed in with his thumb, he was slower, and M-21 exhaled at the pain radiating from where Kentas was touching. It wasn't like the usual pain M-21 was used to - instead of instinctively reacting to get away or bracing himself against the feeling, it was more like...an acknowledgement? That the pain had always been there.   
  
But as Kentas moved his hands along M-21's wings, still kneading in certain areas, the areas he'd left didn't feel as painful as when they'd first started.   
  
M-21 kept breathing deeply, shifting his wings every time Kentas moved on, feeling the difference.   
  
He wasn't sure how long it took, but Kentas eventually said, "I think that's everything."   
  
M-21 arched his shoulders, flexing his wings. They settled against his back better than they had before, and he couldn't feel his fur jabbing into his back either.   
  
When M-21 stretched a wing to look at it, the fur had smoothened out, almost resting against each other like the feathers on everyone else's wings.   
  
What the hell had Kentas done to do that?  
  
"Is that better?" Kentas said.   
  
M-21 flapped his wings a few times, waiting to see if his feathers would fluff back up again like they usually did.   
  
They didn't.   
  
"What did you do?" M-21 said, running the back of his fingers over his feathers. They were soft, curving around his fingers when he pressed into them rather than resisting and scratching him.   
  
"A massage," Kentas said, his own wings arching up for a second like they were shrugging. "Your feathers said..." Kentas trailed off, before he considered M-21, his forehead slightly creased. "Do you know why your feathers were like that?"   
  
"Tch. They've always been like that - it must have been something the scientists had done." They'd done something to his DNA that meant his wings were constantly fluffed up - most people in the Union had wings like that. But then...if it was something that was encoded into him, it shouldn't have been so easy for Kentas to undo just by touching him.   
  
"No..." Kentas said. "With werewolves, our feathers normally fluff to make us look bigger." He paused. "Because we don't feel safe."   
  
M-21 frowned at him, crossing his arms. "This is the safest place I've been in in years." There was no competition.   
  
"That's why I was confused," Kentas said, "because it's obvious you feel safe here and you wouldn't have come back if you didn't." He huffed, looking at M-21's wings again. "But if making yourself look bigger had turned into a habit...?"  
  
Then there would have been no reason for him to stop doing it. Fuck. "So I have to do those exercises every time to relax my feathers?"  
  
Kentas nodded.   
  
" _And_ the massage?"   
  
"That is more because your wings were probably tired from being so tense most of the time."  
  
"Hn." M-21 pulled his phone out, noting down everything Kentas had told him to do earlier. "...Thanks." Kentas didn't have to do that, but he had.   
  
Kentas smiled. "If you notice your feathers aren't going down even after the exercises, I can give you another massage."   
  
M-21 shifted, feeling how his wings rested against his back, how much better he felt. "If you aren't too busy at the time?" Kentas had other, more important things to do than look after him.   
  
Kentas chuckled softly. "I would never be too busy for you."  
  
M-21 shook his head with a sigh. Kentas really never stopped complimenting everyone.


	3. Prototype

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> M-21 didn't have much time to react before Tao slammed into his back, arms wrapping around his neck in a loose hug.  
> "Can I see yer wings for a sec?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wing prompt for the Let's Fix It event.
> 
> Wing AU.
> 
> Set before season...5, I think?

"Eeem!"   
  
M-21 didn't have much time to react before Tao slammed into his back, arms wrapping around his neck in a loose hug.   
  
"Can I see yer wings for a sec?"  
  
M-21 raised an eyebrow, but did as Tao asked. He rolled his shoulders, feeling the wings stretch out from his back. Tao's weight pressed down on them, but not enough to hurt or impede their movement.   
  
"Thanks, M, you're the best!" Tao let go, and M-21 felt Tao's hands on his wings as he hummed.   
  
"Why do you want to see them?" M-21 said, extending his wings when Tao gave them a small tug. There was nothing interesting about them - they were a dull grey and barely had enough power to carry him. The only reason why they were interesting was he hadn't seen any other modified humans with them, so he could surprise an agent with his extra limbs, but they were weak in comparison to his arms.   
  
" _Reasons_ ," Tao said, his hands measuring M-21's wings. "Very good reasons."  
  
"Uh-huh." That was never a good response coming from Tao.  
  
"All right, think I've got everything I need. Thanks, M!"  
  
Tao was gone by the time M-21 turned around. He sighed as he folded the wings back inside him.   
  
He could only wait to see what Tao was planning now.  
  


* * *

  
[i did t!!!]  
  
M-21 blinked at the message before replying, [Did what?]  
  
[ull c~ meet me on the roof~ ;D]  
  
Hn. It had been a few weeks since Tao had asked to see his wings, but Tao hadn't asked the others for anything, so it could still be about that.   
  
His wings and the roof... Was Tao going to ask him to fly? But what had Tao 'done'?   
  
Only one way to find out, and M-21 headed upstairs.  
  


* * *

  
"The fuck?" M-21 said once he got onto the roof and saw Tao. And what was behind Tao.   
  
"What do ya think?" Tao said, spinning around. There were a pair of wings on Tao's back. They looked identical to M-21's, except they were made of metal and strapped onto him like a backpack.  
  
"You made them?" Except he already had his answer, because why else would Tao be showing them off like that? "Can they fly?" Metal was heavy. M-21 wasn't sure how _he_ flew, but his wings were part of his transformation, so that could be why.   
  
"Dunno," Tao said with a gleeful shrug. What. "That's what we're testing tonight!"   
  
Tao held up a controller and M-21 studied it. It looked similar to a console controller. "That's how you're controlling the wings?" But unless Tao had something that could pick up his brain signals, he wouldn't be able to control it with his mind. He sighed when his wings slid out as he tried to figure what Tao would do; his own wings were a little too responsive to his thoughts sometimes.   
  
Tao beamed at him, looking over. "Yup! For now, anyway." Tao's wings flapped, the metal sounding smooth rather than grating.   
  
"All right." M-21 glanced at the edge of the roof but disregarded going towards it. It was easier to fly that way, but if Tao's wings didn't work, it was better if they stayed in the centre instead.   
  
M-21 jumped up, his wings beating the air.   
  
Tao stared up at him, his eyes wide and then followed, leaping up towards him.   
  
Tao was able to flap his wings once before he fell again, looking like it had only the jump that had kept him in the air, not the wings.   
  
M-21 landed next to him, trying to hide his concerned frown. "Are you all-"   
  
Tao burst out laughing, wrapping an arm around M-21's shoulders and leaning on him. "Man, prototype one is done already!"   
  
M-21 blinked at him. "You're...happy about that?" Why was he laughing?   
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You failed." Tao hadn't gotten any lift from his wings.   
  
"Well, yeah." Tao waved a hand before he started shrugging the wings off. "I wasn't expecting to work on the first try! And with that test, I know what I've gotta work on now." Tao set the wings down and gave him a proper hug. "Thanks for the help."  
  
"I didn't do anything," M-21 murmured. Tao had done all the work. "Why did you want to make this anyway?" Why was Tao wanting to put this much effort into something that probably wouldn't work?  
  
Tao leaned back to look M-21. "To fly with you, of course." ...What? "I mean, I can keep up with you along the rooftops, and we can talk through the communicators, but I figured you'd wanna fly higher, or go somewhere that's not so filled with buildings, ya know?"   
  
...Oh. Tao was doing this for _him_. M-21 slowly returned Tao's hug, sighing. "Thanks. But I don't mind." He hadn't flown that much with M-24 - he hadn't wanted to leave his comrade behind, or reveal his transformation. He could fly around the city at night when less people were around to see him and he could hide in the dark sky, but he hadn't done it a lot, the movements feeling stiff and unused.  
  
"Hmmm. I still wanna do it though. And if I get it working, I can make one for Takeo too. And _then_ you can teach us how to fly properly."   
  
M-21 smiled. "Fine, deal." He knew Tao wouldn't give up until he'd made what he'd set out to do, even if it seemed impossible at the time.   
  
He'd look forward to them all flying together.


	4. Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [We appear to have picked up one of your people and we wanted to make sure he's all right.] Frankenstein only contacts Ashleen when it's an important matter, and even from the message she can tell something's wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ashleen lives, Muzaka and Rai never fought, Rai lived with Frankenstein all this time AU.
> 
> Going to assume Ashleen uses polite suffixes for Rai and Frankenstein since she's only 900ish years old and that seems to be young adult age in their development.

Ashleen hummed as she rooftop hopped towards Raizel-nim and Frankenstein-nim's house. Frankenstein-nim had contacted her and that was already a worrying sign - he contacted her when he wanted something done quickly; if it wasn't important, he messaged her pops and waited for whenever her pops remembered to pick his phone up to check.   
  
[We appear to have picked up one of your people and we wanted to make sure he's all right.]  
  
It was a strange message. It could have been Frankenstein-nim being indirect, but he sounded unsure, which was what had been confusing - the two had been around long enough to be able to recognise a werewolf. Unless it was someone young enough to not be able to tell them, except Ashleen knew were were no packs nearby that Raizel-nim and Frankenstein-nim could have gotten in contact with.   
  
That, and Frankenstein knew bodies and how treat them. He certainly knew more than her so calling on her... It had to be something specific to werewolves that he couldn't figure out.   
  
She rang their front doorbell and waited, feeling their presences inside. It didn't take long for Frankenstein to arrive and he smiled when he saw her.   
  
"I hope your trip wasn't troublesome?" he asked as he let her in.   
  
"No," she said, her nostrils flaring. Definitely another werewolf, a pup. It was musky though, as if... "Where is he?" She looked around, nodding towards Raizel-nim, who nodded back. Not in this room.   
  
"Upstairs," Frankenstein said, leading her towards the stairs. "He wouldn't listen to Master, so we put him in one of the spare rooms to help him feel safer."  
  
"He wouldn't listen to Raizel-nim?" she repeated. The pieces were falling into place and she hummed at the sound of movement in the room they were heading for. There was only one certain situation she could think of where Raizel-nim talking to someone was important and what it meant if the other one didn't listen. "How old does he look?"   
  
"I'm not sure," Frankenstein said with a sigh. "I would say a year, but as to how that translates..."   
  
She nodded. She'd been right.   
  
"How has he been acting?" she asked, hand on the door handle.   
  
" _Snappy_ ," Frankenstein said. "It's largely defensive, but he does try to bite if we got too close." Another reason why to keep him separate.   
  
"All right," she said, nodding. She opened the door and was met with a high pitched growl.   
  
A low bed took up most of the room, with some kind of fabric tenting up from the middle, making a nice covered den. She wasn't surprised to see a small silver wolf pup standing near the far wall, fur fluffed up. That had been the scent she'd smelled as soon as she'd entered the house, one of a transformed werewolf, and it explained why Frankenstein had been unsure about the pup's age or if he was even all right.   
  
Which was the problem.   
  
"We can't transform like that until we're an adult," she said, pursing her lips. "It takes too much energy - we can only transform our claws when we come of age." And the pup had been in this form all this time?   
  
"I had been concerned about that," Frankenstein muttered.   
  
Ashleen walked over, which made the pup growl louder, and he backed up towards the wall.   
  
"I'm not going to hurt you," she growled, switching to the werewolf language as she crouched down. The pup froze, his own growl cutting short as his eyes widened.  
  
"You know this language?" The pup took a few steps closer, before backing away again. Wanted to greet her, but still wary. The tip of his tail was wagging though. A good sign.   
  
"Of course," she said. "Since I'm like you." He perked up at that, though he stayed where he was, glancing at Frankenstein-nim.   
  
"Frankenstein-nim?" she asked, turning her head towards him. "Could you leave?" The pup hadn't trusted Raizel-nim or Frankenstein-nim's presences, and that seemed to be why he was hesitant now.  
  
"I'll make tea for when you're done."  
  
Ashleen smiled. "Thanks." It shouldn't take too long.  
  
She heard the door click closed behind her and focused on the pup again. Already he wasn't holding himself as stiffly as before, his head a little higher.   
  
"What's your name?" she growled, and he tilted his head.   
  
"My name?" He tilted his head the other way. "I can't...remember?"  
  
She frowned. The pup was old enough to talk, but not remember his name? What had happened to him?   
  
If he couldn't remember his name, he probably wouldn't remember what had happened to his pack. And if he did, it wasn't important right now - she wanted his trust more than knowing that.  
  
"I'm Ashleen," she told him, holding her palm up towards the ceiling.   
  
The pup accepted her invitation and trotted over. As he got closer, she could see a healed over scar that cut down the right side of his snout.   
  
She scratched the top of his head as he leaned into her. "How're you feeling?"  
  
"Tired..." He curled up next to her with a huff.  
  
"I'll bet," she said with a smile. The transformation would be sapping a lot of his energy. "Do you want to sleep?"   
  
"Yeah." His eyes were already closing, and after a minute his breathing was already deep and even.   
  
Ashleen kept petting him as his body shuddered and changed, fur giving way to smooth skin. He had short silver hair and looked somewhere in his teens, old enough to have developed his claws, but not yet a fully grown adult.   
  
"That probably feels a _lot_ better," she murmured, pulling her phone out. He was thin and pale, his bones easily seen under his skin.   
  
[He's transformed back now,] she messaged Frankenstein. [He'll need some clothes though.] She squinted at the kid. [About 14 human years old?] That should give Frankenstein a rough size of what to aim for.   
  
[I'll bring a change of clothes along with tea.]  
  
She smiled at his message, before she slipped the phone back into her pocket and carried the kid to the bed. She wasn't going to leave his side for a while, but he would be more comfortable on the bed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This went more calmly than I was expecting, haha. M-21 was going to bite her first, hah. It's also a lot longer than expected.
> 
> I left it hanging, but I'm not sure if I'll be writing further than this.


	5. Declare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "M," Tao declared, his sleepy eyes as wide as they could go, "you keep doing this, and I'm gonna hafta kiss you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tao/M-21.
> 
> Nekomata!Tao and born-werewolf!M-21 AU.

"M," Tao declared, his sleepy eyes as wide as they could go, "you keep doing this, and I'm gonna hafta kiss you."   
  
"It's a bacon sandwich," M said with a snort, washing his hands in the sink. "I didn't wake up four hours early to make you a three course breakfast in bed."   
  
Tao scrunched up his nose. "What breakfast needs _that_ much prep?"  
  
M shrugged. "A three course one."   
  
Tao snickered as he sat at the table, the sandwich in front of him. "But seriously, you keep acting like this and I don't think I'd be able to stop myself from kissing you, heh." Tao didn't know if M was paying attention -or maybe he was waking the werewolf up when he was going to bed- but over the past couple of weeks, whenever Tao pulled a late nighter, M usually made him breakfast. There wasn't any fuss, just a plate of something to eat ready for him by the time Tao reached the kitchen.   
  
"Why don't you."  
  
"Huh?" Tao stared at M. His sleepy brain was just hearing stuff, wasn't it?   
  
M was leaning back on the counter, his arms loosely crossed. "Why are you stopping yourself from kissing me?"   
  
"Uh." M was still saying the same thing. He was just accepting it? "I'm meaning a kiss on the lips, M." A misunderstanding? He'd kissed M before, but those were usually in the spur of the moment, and on the cheek.   
  
He got a raised eyebrow for that. "I know. Usually when you announce you're going to do something, you do it instantly."  
  
Was M-? Tao squinted at him. "I didn't think werewolves got interested in other species." And that wasn't even mentioning the standoffishness they had with nekomata. But it _did_ sound like M was saying he was. "Especially since we haven't fought or anything." Which was why Tao had never entertained the thought - they'd never fought or sparred, so M wouldn't have become attracted to him.   
  
M's eyebrow rose higher and Tao could _see_ the smirk he was trying to hide. M was amused about something, his perfect retort ready. "We're fighting right now."  
  
"What?"   
  
M _did_ smirk now, but didn't elaborate.   
  
Okay. He wasn't going to tell him. Hm. They obviously weren't fighting with their fists, and never had. They weren't shouting either.   
  
So.   
  
Fighting. It wasn't just about who was stronger with werewolves, but finding their equal. Someone who would help push them further and vice versa.   
  
M didn't like fighting, but he just as well used his words as his fists. And it was usually a daily occurrence that they had some kind of back and forth about something. A battle of wits.   
  
Which meant- "You've liked me for _weeks_ and didn't say _anything_?" Which was M all around, but _really_.   
  
M shrugged, still smirking. The ass. "You're smart - I knew you'd figure it out."   
  
"Argh!" Tao threw his hands up in the air, and then went over. He stopped in front of M, trying to scowl, but that didn't work, not when nervousness was expanding in his stomach because sure he said he was going to kiss M, but that had been when he thought M wouldn't reciprocate and-  
  
He leaned in, before his thoughts spiralled further and he talked himself out of it. M's hands slid onto his hips as they kissed.   
  
Tao couldn't stop his soft purring and he was sure that was what made M chuckle.   
  
"Your food's getting cold," M said when they finished.   
  
Tao squinted at him again before going back to the table. He hummed as he started to eat - a little cold, but still good. "Was that why you've been making me breakfast?" Had he missed other hints?   
  
M snorted. "You're going to sleep at three, so you're not going to get up in time to eat something before work, and then you forget to eat there anyway."  
  
"I have lunch." M looked at him. "At some point in the day! Just. Not always at lunchtime." It was when his stomach was trying to digest his guts that he got the message.   
  
"But yeah," M said. "I started doing it when I realised I was looking forward to our talks."   
  
"Still shoulda told me," Tao grumbled. He finished off the sandwich and as he was passing his way to the sink, he gave M another quick kiss. "Thanks."   
  
"Just eat something else during the day."  
  
"I will, I will! I'd set an alarm but I'd probably just ignore it," Tao said with a sheepish laugh.   
  
"You're going to be late," M said, his voice amused.   
  
Tao glanced at his phone. "Ack! Okay, fine, I'm running, but we're going to have a proper talk when I get back, all right?"   
  
M's lips widened into a sharp smile. "I can't wait."   
  
...He really should have noticed the similarities in a verbal spar earlier. But he could think about that later - he had to get to work first.


	6. Stickers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tao keeps putting stickers on M-21's sketchbook.

M-21 frowned at the sticker on his sketchbook. He hadn't put it there - he'd only just bought it, maybe getting as far as drawing three lines before putting it away again. The drawing was wrong, he could tell that much even right at the start so he left it. But he still had an urge to try, after he'd trained and he needed to do something else with his hands.   
  
The sticker was a small thumbs up, a couple centimetres long. There was only one person who would go into his room to put it there: Tao.   
  
M-21 ran his finger over the sticker, feeling its slight raised edge compared to the cover. He could take it off with his nail, but that could end up leaving its own mark.   
  
It was fine where it was.   


 

* * *

  
There was a new sticker on the cover the next day, this time of a black and white cat head, more towards the centre than in a corner.   
  
Hm. M-21 looked around his room and then back at the cat. He'd tried drawing the objects around him, but maybe he could start with the cat instead...   


 

* * *

  
It continued like that for a week, new stickers appearing on M-21's sketchbook when he looked at it next. An ice-cream cone, flowers, a panda that was raised up further than the usual paper. No wolves though, and M-21 was glad for that.   
  
M-21 stared at his sketchbook, turning it over. No new sticker. He flicked through it, checking the pages. Still no new sticker, which he'd doubted anyway - Tao had never done anything with the inside of the sketchbook, keeping the stickers to the outside. He hadn't mentioned anything about M-21's attempts at drawings, so he must not have looked.   
  
Which meant... Tao had probably gotten bored.   
  
That was fine. He shouldn't have expected Tao to keep doing that for so long anyway.   
  
M-21 traced the stickers on the cover and then sighed, starting a new drawing.   


 

* * *

  
"Eeeem," Tao said the next morning, just before he threw himself at M-21, draping an arm around his shoulder, "yesterday was  _so_  busy."   
  
"That's fine," M-21 said, "I know that." Tao was usually busy, and tended to disappear for hours at a time. Since he was able to talk to Tao now, maybe he could ask...? "You'd been leaving stickers on my sketchbook?"   
  
Tao grinned at him. "Mmhm!"   
  
Not quite the answer he was looking for. "Why?"   
  
"Weeell," Tao said, "I leave a sticker every time you make me happy."   
  
M-21 stared at him, trying to find the slight twitch in his cheek that Tao had whenever he was trying to stop himself from laughing after making a joke. It wasn't there. Tao was being serious?   
  
"But...you're leaving a sticker every day. Multiple times, sometimes." And they hadn't seen each other yesterday. So was that why...?  
  
"Yeah, you always make me happy when we talk."   
  
"...Oh." M-21 had no idea how else to respond to that.   
  
"And I figured you didn't mind them if you weren't taking them off."  
  
M-21 shrugged. "They helped."   
  
Tao beamed at him.  
  
M-21 listened as Tao talked about what he was working on as they walked downstairs, an idea forming at the back of his head.  


 

* * *

  
M-21 poked his head into Tao's security room. He knew Tao wasn't there - he'd seen him leave a few minutes earlier, but it was still better to be careful. Tao probably had an alarm for whenever someone not him entered the room, so he had to be quick.   
  
Maybe he was wrong about this. He knew Tao loved his electronics, but would he want a sticker on them? ...Like Tao had said, if he didn't like it, he could take it off.   
  
Decision settled, M-21 headed for Tao's monitor, pressing the small sticker -a hamster sitting at a laptop- and pressed it lightly at one of the corners, making sure it didn't overlap onto the screen.   
  
That done, M-21 left the room.   


 

* * *

  
The next time M-21 saw his sketchbook, there were ten new stickers, arranged in the shape of a love heart.   
  
Smiling softly, M-21 traced his fingers over them, and started a new drawing.


End file.
